English Dictionary — Definitions & Meanings

dismantle

verb

To take something apart piece by piece.

dismantlement

noun

The act of taking something apart.

dismantling

noun

The process of taking something apart or breaking it down.

dismay

noun

A strong feeling of sudden worry, disappointment, or discouragement.

dismayed

adjective

Feeling shocked and disappointed.

dismayful

adj

Making someone feel disappointed or discouraged.

dismember

verb

To cut or tear the limbs off a body.

dismembered

adjective

Having had the limbs cut off or separated from the body.

dismemberment

noun

The act of cutting off limbs, or the state of having been cut apart.

dismiss

verb

To fire someone from a job, or to formally end someone's employment.

dismissal

noun

The act of firing someone from their job.

dismissed

adjective

Fired from a job, or no longer employed there.

dismissed with prejudice

adjective

Of a legal case: thrown out permanently, so that the same claim cannot be brought again by the same party. A dismissal with prejudice is a final judgment on the merits and normally can only be challenged on appeal.

dismissing

adjective

Treating something as unimportant or not worth taking seriously.

dismission

noun

The act of sending someone away or dismissing them.

dismissive

adjective

Showing that you consider something not worth serious attention.

dismount

verb

To get off something you were riding, such as a horse or bicycle.

Disney

noun

A surname of Old French origin, most famous as the name of animator and entrepreneur Walt Disney.

Disneyland

noun

The original Disney theme park in Anaheim, California, and by extension similar Disney parks in other countries.

disobedience

noun

The refusal or failure to follow instructions, rules, or authority.

disobedient

adjective

Refusing or failing to obey rules or instructions.

disobey

verb

To refuse or fail to follow an order or rule.

disoblige

verb

To refuse to help someone, causing them inconvenience or disappointment.

disorder

noun

A state of confusion or lack of proper organization.

disorderliness

noun

The quality of being disorderly.

disorderly

adjective

Messy or lacking any clear organization.

disorganised

adj

Not organised properly; muddled and chaotic.

disorganization

noun

The act of throwing something into disorder.

disorganize

verb

To throw something into disorder or chaos.

disorganized

adjective

Lacking order or a clear system; messy or chaotic.

disorient

verb

To make someone lose their sense of direction.

disorientation

noun

A loss of one's sense of direction or awareness of surroundings.

disown

verb

To refuse to acknowledge someone, especially a family member, as belonging to you anymore.

disparage

noun

An unequal marriage, especially to someone of lower social rank.

disparagement

noun

The act of belittling or criticising someone unfairly.

disparaging

adjective

Insulting or belittling; expressing a low opinion of someone or something.

disparate

adj

Made up of parts that are very different from each other and sit awkwardly together.

disparity

noun

A noticeable difference or imbalance between two things, especially one that seems unfair.

dispart

verb

To split apart or come apart.

dispassionate

adj

Calm and fair, without being swayed by feelings or bias.

dispatch

verb

To send something or someone off promptly for a specific purpose.

dispatching

noun

The act or process of sending someone or something to a destination for a particular purpose.

dispel

verb

To make fears, doubts, or false ideas disappear by showing they have no basis.

dispend

verb

To spend or use up.

dispensable

adj

Not essential, so it can be done without or swapped for something else.

dispensary

noun

A place, such as part of a hospital or clinic, where medicine or medical supplies are given out.

dispensation

noun

Official permission to be excused from a rule or obligation that would normally apply.

dispense

verb

To give out or distribute something, especially in measured amounts.

dispenser

noun

A device or container designed to give out a set amount of something, such as soap or tape.

dispensing

noun

The act of measuring out and handing over goods or medicine.

dispersal

noun

The act of scattering people or things over a wide area, or the state of being scattered.

disperse

verb

To scatter or spread out in different directions.

dispersed

adjective

Spread out over an area rather than gathered in one place.

dispersion

noun

The act of scattering things widely, or the state of being spread out over a large area.

dispirit

verb

To reduce someone's morale; to make them despondent or downhearted.

dispirited

adj

Lacking energy or enthusiasm, and feeling discouraged.

dispiriting

adj

Making someone feel discouraged or low in spirits.

displace

verb

To force people to leave their home or homeland.

displacement

noun

The forced movement of people from their homes, especially by war, persecution, disaster or development.

display

verb

To show something openly so it can be seen clearly.

displayed

adjective

Put out openly for people to see.

displaying

noun

The act of showing something for others to see.

displease

verb

To annoy or upset someone; to fail to please.

displeased

adjective

Feeling annoyed or unhappy about something.

displeasing

adj

Not pleasant; unattractive or annoying.

displeasure

noun

A feeling of annoyance, dissatisfaction, or disapproval.

displode

verb

To burst apart with a loud bang.

displume

verb

To pull the feathers or plumes off something.

disport

verb

To enjoy yourself in a lively, playful way, jumping and frolicking about.

disposable

adjective

Designed to be thrown away after use rather than cleaned or reused.

disposal

noun

The act of getting rid of something, especially waste.

dispose

verb

To get rid of something (usually with 'of').

disposed

adjective

Inclined or willing to do or feel something.

disposing

noun

The act of arranging, settling, or getting rid of something.

disposition

noun

A person's natural way of feeling, thinking, or behaving; temperament.

dispositive

adj

Aiming at, leading to, or able to settle a matter.

dispossessed

adjective

Having had one's home, land, or property taken away.

dispossession

noun

The act of depriving someone of something they possess.

dispraise

verb

To speak of something with disapproval or criticism.

disprobative

adj

Working to disprove an idea, or to show that a claim is false.

disproportion

noun

The condition of being unbalanced or having the wrong proportions.

disproportionate

adjective

Too large or too small compared to what is normal, fair, or expected.

disprove

verb

To show that a claim, theory, or belief is false.

disproven

adj

Proved wrong or untrue.

dispunishable

adj

Not able to be punished.

disputable

adj

Describing an opinion, statement or question that people could argue about, because it is not yet settled.

disputation

noun

An argument or disagreement between people.

dispute

noun

A disagreement or argument between people, often a formal or ongoing one.

disputed

adjective

Not agreed upon; still being argued over or questioned.

disputing

noun

Arguing or debating over something.

disqualification

noun

The act of disqualifying someone, or the state of being disqualified.

disqualify

verb

To officially rule someone ineligible to take part in or win something, often because of a rule violation.

disquiet

noun

A feeling of worry or unease, with no sense of calm.

disquieting

adj

Making you feel worried or uneasy.

disquietude

noun

A feeling of being uneasy, worried or unsettled.

Disraeli

name

A surname notably borne by Benjamin Disraeli, British prime minister and novelist.

disrecommend

verb

To tell someone not to do something; to argue against it.

disregard

verb

To deliberately ignore or pay no attention to something.

disregarded

adjective

Ignored or paid no attention to.

disrelish

noun

An absence of relish, or distaste.

disremember

verb

(informal) To not be able to remember something; to forget it.

disrepair

noun

A poor condition caused by not being looked after or fixed.

disreputable

adjective

Having a bad reputation; not respectable or trustworthy.

disrepute

noun

A bad reputation, or the state of having lost people's respect.

disrespect

noun

A lack of respect or courtesy shown toward someone or something.

disrespectful

adjective

Showing a lack of respect; rude or discourteous.

disrobe

verb

To take off one's clothes, or to remove clothing from someone else.

disrupt

verb

To throw a process, system, or situation into confusion by interrupting its normal flow.

disrupted

verb

Past tense of "disrupt" — interrupted the normal flow or order of something.

disrupting

verb

Present participle of "disrupt" — currently breaking up the normal flow or order of something.

disruption

noun

A break in the normal flow, order, or continuity of something.

disruptive

adj

Causing trouble, disorder, or interruption to normal activity.

diss

verb

To insult someone or show them disrespect, especially through words.

dissatisfaction

noun

A feeling of unhappiness or discontent because something did not meet expectations.

dissatisfied

adj

Not pleased or content; disappointed with how something turned out.

dissatisfy

verb

To not meet someone's expectations, and so make them unhappy.

dissect

verb

To cut open a body, plant, or organism to examine its internal structure.

dissected

verb

Past tense of "dissect" — cut something apart to examine its structure.

dissecting

verb

Present participle of "dissect" — cutting something apart to examine its parts.

dissection

noun

The act of cutting something open to examine its parts.

dissemble

verb

To hide or cover up the truth about something.

dissembling

noun

The act of hiding the truth or pretending to feel something you do not.

disseminate

verb

To spread ideas, opinions or information widely, as if scattering seeds.

disseminated

adj

Spread widely in many places.

dissemination

noun

The spreading of information, ideas or beliefs to a wide number of people.

dissension

noun

Strong disagreement or conflict, especially within a group.

dissensus

noun

A lack of agreement between people, especially on a large scale.

dissent

verb

To disagree, especially with an official view or decision.

dissenter

noun

A person who disagrees, especially with an official church's teachings.

dissertation

noun

A long, formal piece of writing on a specific subject, usually required to complete an advanced degree.

disservice

noun

An action that causes harm, especially one that was meant or expected to help.

dissever

verb

To break something apart, or pull two or more things away from each other.

disseverance

noun

The act of breaking something apart, or the state of being separated.

dissident

noun

A person who openly opposes a government or political system they live under.

dissimilar

adj

Not alike; different in nature or appearance.

dissimilarity

noun

The quality of not looking or being like something else.

dissimilarly

adv

In a way that is not similar; differently.

dissimilation

noun

The process of becoming, or making something, less alike.

dissimulation

noun

Hiding the truth from someone; deceiving them.

dissing

verb

Present participle of "dis" — insulting or showing disrespect toward someone.

dissipate

verb

To gradually scatter or disappear.

dissipated

verb

Past tense of "dissipate" — scattered and gradually disappeared.

dissipation

noun

The process of scattering or spreading something out until it disappears, or the waste this causes.

dissociate

verb

In psychology, to become mentally detached from your thoughts, feelings, body or surroundings, so that experience feels unreal or distant. It often happens under stress or trauma.

dissociation

noun

The process of separating from something, or the state of being separated.

dissociative

adj

Relating to a mental state or condition in which thoughts, feelings, or identity become disconnected from one another.

dissoluteness

noun

An absence of self-control; excess.

dissolution

noun

The formal ending of an organization, agreement, or assembly.

dissolvability

noun

The ability of a substance to dissolve.

dissolve

verb

To mix completely into a liquid so as to become part of the solution.